TAUNTON — A juvenile and a city man were arrested early Thursday after police responded to a complaint of three people going into unlocked vehicles on Bay Street.

Police charged 20-year-old Xavier Alexis Gonzalves, 4 North Ave., with felony breaking and entering and larceny from a motor vehicle.

He later was also charged with malicious destruction of property for allegedly using his fingernail to carve symbols, names and faces on the wall of his police station holding cell.

Police arrested his 15-year-old alleged accomplice for larceny and breaking and entering.

The pair were nabbed shortly before 2 a.m. after police — including a K-9 unit and a Raynham officer — responded to the area of 556 Bay St. for a report of three suspicious males who appeared to be going into vehicles on the street.

Gonzalves was reportedly apprehended after coming out of a parked van that had been left unlocked. His accomplice was caught while crouching behind a nearby car, police said.

The third suspect managed to get away, according to police.

Gonzalves, who police said had a flashlight attached to his forehead, initially claimed he’d been going through his uncle’s van.

Within seconds, however, police said the homeowner came outside and said he did not know the suspect.

When a patrolman asked if he wanted to reconsider his explanation, Gonzalves reportedly called the officer a “punk ass (expletive).”

Police described Gonzalves as at first being evasive and then cooperative. They said he didn’t object to police looking through his backpack, which he said was filled with “a lot of stuff.”

Close to 30 different items were recovered from the backpack, according to police, including: a GPS unit; 18 watches; a Weight Watchers scale; an AARP American Red Cross ID; a library card; gas cards; a debit card, baseball cards; several pairs of costume-jewelry earings; Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards; U.S. and Irish currency; an alcohol nip bottle; and a cellphone.

Gonzalves allegedly admitted that he and his two accomplices had been checking vehicles for about an hour and a half before being caught.

He allegedly claimed he was trying to get at least $25 of money and merchandise in order to purchase an ID card so he could seek work with a local temporary employment agency.

The last time he broke into vehicles in the same area, which he allegedly said was two weeks earlier, Gonzalves claimed it was because he needed $20 to repay a friend who loaned him cash for pizza.

The juvenile reportedly told police he realized what he had done was stupid and that he “just wasn’t thinking” when he agreed to break into cars.

Page 2 of 2 - Police said the boy’s mother was notified and picked him up. The woman told cops she thought he had been staying overnight with a friend.

In addition to the contents of his backpack, police said they retrieved loose change, two flashlights and a canister of OC-gas pepper spray from Gonzalves’ pockets.

Gonzalves claimed he took the pepper spray from one of the vehicles he broke into that night, police said.